678 PLATEAU ON THE PHENOMENA OF A FREE LIQUID MASS 



portions of liquid which pass must be isolated from each 

 other. 



If, then, the movements of the liquid, both that of translation 

 and that of transformation, were sufficiently slow to allow of our 

 following them with our eyes, the vein would appear to be formed 

 of two distinct parts, the one superior and continuous, the other 

 inferior and discontinuous. The surface of the former would 

 present a series of dilatations and constrictions, which would 

 descend with the liquid, becoming constantly renewed after 

 passing the contracted section, and which, although very feebly 

 indicated at their origin near this section, would become more 

 and more marked during their movement of transference, the 

 dilatations becoming more promineni and the constrictions nar- 

 rower : these divisions of the vein arriving one after the other, 

 in their greatest development, at the lower extremity of the con- 

 tinuous part, would be seen to become detached from it, and 

 immediately to complete their assumption of the spherical form. 

 Moreover, the separation of each of these masses would neces- 

 sarily be preceded by the formation of a line which would resolve 

 itself into spherules of different diameters, so that each isolated 

 sphei'e would be succeeded by similar spherules. The discon- 

 tinuous part of the vein would then be seen to consist of isolated 

 spheres of the same size and of unequal spherules arranged in 

 the intervals of the former, both of them being conveyed by the 

 movement of translation, and being unceasingly renewed at the 

 extremity of the continuous part. 



Now Savart's beautiful investigations* have taught us that 

 this is, in fact, the real constitution of the vein ; except that 

 under ordinary circumstances an extraneous cause, which was 

 also pointed out by Savart, more or less modifies the form of the 

 divisions of the continuous part, and alters the sphericity of the 

 isolated masses composing the discontinuous part ; but Savart 

 has given the means of excluding this influence, of which we 

 shall speak hereafter. 



70. Now as the movement of transference is too rapid to allow 

 of the phaenomena which are produced in the vein being recog- 

 nised by direct observation, certain peculiar appearances ought 

 to be the result of this. We must remember here, that when a 

 liquid cylinder becomes resolved into spheres, the rapidity with 

 which the transformation takes place is accelerated, and conse- 



* Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Aout 1833. 



